Program tracks bear population

Pennsylvania Game Commission bear biologist Mark Ternent, left, and Southeast Region wildlife conservation officer Will Dingman prepare a baiting area as part of the population study conducted this summer in preparation for the upcoming bear seasons in Wildlife Management Unit 4E.

DOYLE DIETZ/SPECIAL PHOTOs
Pennsylvania Game Commission bear biologist Mark Ternent prepares an Aldridge Foot Snare as part of the agency's tagging project this summer to monitor the population in Wildlife Management Unit 4E in preparation for this year's extended hunting season that will be held during the firearms deer season.

For hundreds of people in this area, chance sightings and encounters with black bears have become a matter-of-fact event in recent years.

As bears keep expanding their range in Pennsylvania, during certain times of the year they are as likely to be seen from backyard decks as they are on mountain hiking trails. During the past several weeks, there were reports of four bears being killed on highways by motor vehicles in Schuylkill County and another outside Catawissa in Columbia County.

There is no question that a huntable population of black bears resides in wildlife management units 4C, 4D 4E, 5B and 5C, but to justify additional hunting opportunities, the Pennsylvania Game Commission needs to monitor that population. This year, in addition to the regular three-day statewide bear season, Nov. 23-25, those five WMUs will also have an extended bear season over the final four days during the first week of the firearms deer season, Dec. 2-5.

Late this summer, PGC bear biologist Mark Ternent and other agency personnel, including Southeast Region wildlife conservation officers Will Dingman and Kevin Clouser, conducted an eight-day monitoring program in WMU 4E that included trapping and tagging bears. This was done in various areas of high bear density in Northumberland and Schuylkill counties.

Studies such as this are conducted throughout Pennsylvania to monitor the statewide bear population, which is estimated to be approximately 15,000. Comparing the number of tagged bears hunters bring to PGC check stations against the number of bears tagged throughout the year allows the agency to determine if extended hunting seasons are needed in addition to the statewide three-day firearms season and two-day limited archery season, which this year will be held Nov. 18-19.

"During the eight days we conducted the monitoring program in WMU 4E, we trapped eight bears," Ternent said. "We're satisfied with this level of success, and this effort, combined with unit-wide efforts to trap and tag nuisance bears, should yield a sufficient sample to estimate harvest rates within the unit this fall.

"We're not looking for nuisance bears when we conduct one of these monitoring programs, and the bears we trap are released on site after tagging and recording research data. Our objective is to supplement the information that is compiled from bears that are trapped and transferred, including reproduction and survival rates.

"Chances are that when people see a tagged bear, it is a research bear, not a nuisance bear. By tagging a certain number of bears in an area, the ratio of tagged and untagged bears that hunters bring to a check station allows for accurately estimating the population."

When trapping nuisance bears, PGC personnel use large culvert traps that are mounted on wheels and towed behind vehicles. Bears entering these traps trigger a door that drops and encloses it in the trap, allowing it to be tranquilized, tagged, studied and then towed to another area for release.

Because the trapping of bears that is conducted for the population monitoring study is usually done on game trails in the woods, it is usually impossible to tow a culvert trap to the site. As a result, an Aldridge Foot Snare, which is a sliding loop cable that allows bears complete freedom of movement, is used to prevent injury.

These snares are placed on trails that have also been baited with donuts - Krispy Kreme, no less - and sprayed with a special mixture of attractant scents. Ternent said that in some areas where monitoring programs are conducted on a regular basis, the bears have learned to associate the donuts with being trapped, so a false snare is set and then an actual snare to catch the bear.

"Ideally, 20 percent of the tagged bears is our target goal for hunter success in an area," Ternent said. "This produces a declining population, which is the goal in WMUs with an extended season."

Considering that less than three percent of the hunters take a bear each year in Pennsylvania, reaching that goal of 20 percent is more difficult than it may seem. Even in areas where there is no shortage of bears.

For more information on black bears, visit the Pennsylvania Game Commission Website at www.pgc.state.pa.us, select "Hunting," and then click on the photograph of the black bear.

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